India love these grumbling Aussies. And they’re about to get stronger

Perth is done and dusted, Adelaide is now to be busted. That’s how the Indian team is thinking. Winning the first Test match of a series and away from home is a super way to start. The team that has lost is playing catch up and though this is a five-Test series, trying to get back on an even keel takes a huge effort.

There’s the example of India from four years ago as they climbed the mountain after they were blown away for 36 in the first Test in Adelaide on their last tour of Australia.

In the next Test, on Boxing Day, they were given a lifeline by Australia when captain Tim Paine opted to bat first at the MCG on a pitch that had six millimetres more grass than at Adelaide.

Not only had the visitors just been demolished for their lowest score ever in Test cricket, but their charismatic captain and best batter Virat Kohli had opted to leave the team for personal reasons. Psychologically, they were down in the dumps and were ripe for the taking in Melbourne if they had been asked to bat first after the 36 all out.

Instead, by choosing to bat, Australia allowed Jasprit Bumrah and company to get India back in the game as they bowled the Aussies out for 195. Then Ajinkya Rahane played a captain’s innings to get a century and got the team a good lead from which the Aussies never recovered.

A couple of Tests later, to show again that nobody is indispensable in this sport, the Indians went on to breach “Fortress Gabba” without Bumrah and Ravichandran Ashwin and win the series in style.

Virat Kohli celebrates reaching a century during day three of the first Test in Perth.Credit: Getty Images

There were two tough, hard-boiled Mumbai boys in charge then. Coach Ravi Shastri, one of the shrewdest brains in the game who lifted the team’s spirits after that Adelaide disaster, and Rahane, a quiet, low-profile but tough-as-nails guy as the captain.

Do the Aussies have somebody like that in their ranks who can make the players forget the rumblings around them? And boy, are there some loud growls too.

Drop him, pick that one. Why were runs given easily to Kohli to get him into the century mood? Why was this not tried and that not attempted?

All kinds of questions are being asked, including the incredibly imbecilic one of why Usman Khawaja didn’t take the first ball in Australia’s second innings. As if that was going to make a difference.

The Indians are watching this with amusement, but as you will have noticed, no current or former player is trying to offer advice on who should be in the Australian team, as some former Aussie players were doing before the Indian team was selected for the tour.

India will be stronger with the return of the skipper Rohit Sharma and the classy Shubman Gill. Where will the flamboyant skipper bat is the question. There’s every possibility that he won’t disturb the pair who just set up a record opening partnership, and he may opt to bat down the order with Gill resuming his place at No.3.

With Nitish Reddy’s impressive debut, will India go with a sole spinner again?

If yes, would it be Washington Sundar or Ravindra Jadeja? Jadeja will bring a left-handed bowling option to the attack but the short square boundaries of the Adelaide Oval may count against him with Australia having Travis Head and three other left-handers in their ranks.

India have virtually zero headaches in selection. They are not going to ease up knowing a place in the world Test championship final is on the line.

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